Escape from Avalon
by Angel Pendragon
Summary: Camelot is cursed when Uther kills every magical being he comes across, Arthur wants to stop his father, Merlin meets an enchanting fairy who wants to help.. please R/R


Escape from Avalon!

For the second time in a year Camelot was in trouble and under attack from the magic realm.

King Uther had angered the high priestess Carrigan when he had executed all the magicians and magical beings in Camelot, some even from the neighbouring villages.

King Uther in his rage and full of hate for everything magical had declared war on the magic realm, the death of Nimueh did not satisfy him and he wanted to rid the kingdom of all magical beings for the last time.

He sent his Knights out to capture and kill any body who was suspected of practising magic which caused an out rage amongst the towns folk and even half of the castle staff.

Morgana being her usual self saw the need to defend everything and argue with King Uther which cost her another night in the dungeon whilst Arthur refused to join in on his fathers sick war.

"I am not going to kill every magical being in the Kingdom just because you hate them, father, half of the people you have executed never did anything wrong except use magic for entertaining the children" Arthur snarled as he paced his fathers chambers.

King Uther remained seated on his chair with a goblet of red wine clenched in his hand as his son continued to argue and defend the people, Morgana had lost the fight with Uther now it was Arthur's turn.

"They are guilty of sorcery and you know the rules boy" replied the King in his authoritative tone of voice which just made Arthur all the more angry.

Arthur paced to the window and cast his gaze over Camelot, he noticed how the market square was quiet and almost empty.

The people of Camelot were beginning to become afraid of their own King, they spent as little time on the street as possible, hiding away in their houses from fear of being executed for being suspected of sorcery.

His eyes then fell on the chopping block, it glistened as the sun shone on the dripping blood that covered the block and reflected back towards the castle.

"How long does this blood shed have to continue?" asked Arthur his voice now calmer but still full of anger.

Uther stared coldly at the goblet of wine, losing him self in the blood red liquid, his reflection staring back at him, the appearance of a King who was now becoming old and withered, but he would not be defeated by these evil beings.

"Until every one of them is dead and Camelot can be a happy place once again" he said coldly.

Arthur's face fell angered his eyes narrowed as he continued to stare out above Camelot, he clenched his fists and felt his blood boiling with in him, he knew this would never stop.

"Camelot will never be happy, father, the people will always fear you, you're turning into a monster" he said with defiance.

Uther slammed his hand down on the table and began to shout at his son but Arthur only turned and stormed out of the room, leaving his father even more angered than he was before.

…...........................................................................................................................................................

"You have to be very careful Merlin" pleaded the old physician as he handed Merlin his dinner of broth and bread.

Merlin smiled up at his mentor and took the food "I always am Gaius" he replied but he could see the worry firmly fixed to the old man's face.

Gaius sat down opposite the young warlock and stared at him with pleading eyes "we both know that is untrue Merlin, you risk your life every time Arthur is in trouble".

Merlin frowned at the old man as he played with his bread "its my destiny, I have to protect him" he replied.

Gaius nodded his head agreeing but he knew Merlin was becoming reckless with his magic.

"If Uther finds out your a warlock he will have you killed and then you wont be able to protect Arthur" he reasoned but Merlin only replied with his I will be ok, I know what I'm doing smile, which made Gaius all the more worried.

"Merlin I know how important Arthur is to you, but please just be careful, you know how Uther has upped the security and anybody who is suspected of magic is executed without being given a trail or even listened out" Gaius said with concern.

Merlin knew he was right, everywhere you went in Camelot you had a guard close by, watching and searching for the slightest inclination of the use of magic.

"Anyway I need you to go to the woods today to pick me some black cohosh, I am running low and for heavens sake Merlin refrain from using magic" whipped the old man as he finished up his dinner.

Merlin rolled his eyes when the old man had turned away, he knew the old man was only looking out for him but he was beginning to annoy the young warlock with his constant badgering, Merlin was a smart boy despite Arthur calling him an idiot every minute of the day, he knew when it was dangerous he should not use magic, unless it was really necessary.

"Ok, that's fine, how much do you need?" the warlock replied as he stood up and brushed him self down, dusting the bread crumbs off his tunic.

"Enough to make a weeks worth of remedy, you should know how much I will need if you have been studying the medical book, like you said you would" said the old man as he turned back to Merlin with a pouch.

Merlin smirked as he took the little brown pouch "ten stems with buds and foliage" he replied which provoked a smirk from the physician.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Arthur lined his bow up with the target board and took a deep breath before letting the arrow go, it made a thud as the spear end hit and stuck into the board.

"Target practice, I thought you preferred sparing" Merlin asked curiously as he approached his master across the training field.

Arthur pulled out another bow and again lined it up with the board "I need to let off some steam, is it wrong I am imagining that board to be my father?" the Prince asked his voice husky.

Merlin cocked his brow as he heard Arthur's voice, the only time Arthur ever sounded like that was when he was stressed and had been shouting a lot, in fact no screaming a lot.

"Is that a trick question?" asked the warlock wearily as he came to a halt beside the Prince.

Arthur shook his head as he let the arrow go, it spun in the air before hitting the red circle in the centre of the board "no, its an honest question, is it wrong for me the Prince of Camelot to imagine that target board is my own father, the King" he asked Merlin who stared at the board for a moment before shrugging his slender shoulders.

"Depends" Merlin said quietly.

"On" replied Arthur.

"If you think you would ever act on your feelings" replied the warlock as he handed Arthur another bow.

Arthur took it and clenched his teeth "sometimes I really wonder, maybe Camelot would be a better place if Uther was no longer around" he snapped.

Merlin stepped back and stared at Arthur in shock, surely he wasn't serious, he couldn't want his own father dead, could he? Merlin thought as he studied his masters face.

"His rules are so unfair, he's killing innocent people just because he has a grudge on magic and the worst thing is the sorcerer who made him hate magic is dead and he still wont leave it alone" Arthur said with an aggravated tone.

Merlin didn't really know what to say to that, he knew the sorcerer in question was dead because he was the one who killed her.

"I know, Sire" replied Merlin in a sad tone.

Arthur's eyes met Merlin's and the Prince nodded slowly, understanding.

"It must be hard for you" the Prince said softly.

Merlin was intrigued by the Prince's statement and looked at him with curious eyes "how do you mean?" he said curiously.

Arthur smirked at the warlock and draped his arm over his shoulder "seeing him kill sorcerers, it must hurt you a lot".

Merlin slipped away from the Princes touch and stood shocked, just what was he implying?.

"Why would it hurt me?" he snapped defensively.

Arthur sighed as he went back to his target practice "I just thought since the whole Will thing in Ealdor... you know.. he died for me and he was a sorcerer, he was a good sorcerer, it must be hard seeing Uther kill innocent sorcerers like Will" he replied with sincere concern.

Merlin stared at the ground for a moment, trying to settle his now pounding heart rate as he was convinced Arthur was going to say he knew he was a sorcerer.

"Right! Yeah..... its hard seeing Uther kill any innocents, doesn't matter if they are sorcerers or not" replied the young warlock.

Arthur had turned back to his target practice, Merlin quickly said goodbye and scurried off to the woods, his heart rate pounding like a drum as he thought his secret was out, Gaius was right, he needed to be careful, he wanted Arthur to know about his ability so much but he didn't know how the Prince would react.

He remembered how easy going Arthur was on Will when Will had said he was the sorcerer who caused the wind to save Ealdor, but would Arthur have really been that ok with it if Will was not dying?.

Merlin knew the best thing to do was to keep quiet about his magic, even though Arthur was his friend and disagreed with the way King Uther was treating the people of Camelot, but how would he feel about Merlin if he learned he was also a sorcerer?.

Would he feel betrayed because Merlin hadn't told him about his magic sooner or would he be fine with it? Would he hand Merlin over to the King and have him executed? Or would he turn a blind eye?.

All these thoughts and more plaqued the young warlocks mind on his walk to the woods.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Camelot was in desperate need of water, once again the well had dried up due to the magical curse Carrigan had cast up on the town, the only water the town had was what they had stored during the days before the curse was set.

Carrigan said she would lift the spell if Uther stopped killing magical beings but Uther being the stubborn King he was refused to agree with a sorceress or any magical being.

Which in turn made her even more angry and then she decided if Uther wasn't going to agree to stop killing people of the magic realm, the only way he would get Camelot back to its former glory was to give her some of his own people to replace those ones he had killed in cold blood.

The land was dry and the crops were dying due to lack of water, there was nothing that could be done and all Uther did was continue to kill sorcerers and seers and anybody else who held magical abilities.

He then would order his guards to take their water and food supplies and put them in the castle, so they could be used by the castle staff.

Carrigan had struck a deal with some other fellow high priests and they set about trying to ruin Camelot and King Uther for good.

If he would not stop killing their people then they would just have to kill his people starting with his Knights and his son.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Avalon was known as a mystical beautiful place where you would go once you were on the brink of death and you would be healed, then spend eternity there, some people were there forever and some were there until they were needed again in the realm of the living.

The rest of the inhabitants of Avalon were the fairies who protected the sacred place from being stumbled up on.

There were many different kinds of fairies that played many different roles in the magical realm, there were the elemental fairies who represented the earth, wind and the water and then there were the sidhe, the ones who protected the sacred Avalon and opened passage for those who were to reside here in their after life.

The Sidhe could banish people from Avalon as well as welcoming people, but usually it was left to the fairies who resided there that would lead passage to the fallen and the sick.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Aviannia sat on the edge of a large rock that stood in the middle of the lake, she dipped her hand into the water and swirled her hand around, the water was cool and refreshing, she would have appreciated it more if it was something new to her, but unfortunately it was the same every day, she would sit on the same rock doing the same thing, she really did feel like she was wasting her time, no body ever came by and when they did eventually come she was reluctant to take them to the sacred place.

She didn't like doing the journey to Avalon with another lost soul, she would much rather allow them to live or if they did have to die then she would prefer to let another fairy lead them back to Avalon.

Avianna felt like she was robbing them of what was most precious to them, their life and being able to live on the land.

She would spend the days day dreaming of being human and living on the land with all the people, she would give anything to just experience life in Camelot, see the people, the markets and the castle, but being a water fairy her sole existence was to represent the lake, she was not allowed to leave if she ever did the sidhe would banish her forever and she would never be able to return to Avalon when her life came to an end.

Avianna spent her days watching the villagers of Camelot make their way through the woods gathering branches and twigs to use as fire wood, berries and anything they could forage to use as food, Knights trudging through the woods searching for escaped prisoners or on a hunt, she thought how sweet some of them looked, rather handsome and brave.

Then there was the peddlers who headed to Camelot to sell their stock, there was those who sold sweet little wooden dolls, however Avianna found herself wondering what child would want to play with a wooden doll with straw for hair.

Then there was the ones who sold little bottles of clear liquid, maybe it was a potion of some kind, a beauty treatment or fragrant oil, she found herself laughing as she thought maybe it was an aphrodisiac, if humans need an aphrodisiac to help them get them in the mood to make love then they were either with the wrong people or just shouldn't bother.

Then there was the peddlers who sold jewellery, pretty little bracelets and charms.

She stared down to her pale wrists and frowned, she would love to be able to wear charms and pretty jewellery, a little decoration.

She then stared at her pale slender fingers and sighed she wished she could wear a ring, something sweet and decorative, but as a fairy she had no use for jewellery and it would just be a waste nobody would ever see it as the only beings who could see her were those of magic, she was only visible to fellow fairies and the odd sorcerer who passed by, but non of them even gave her a second look.

To the rest of the world she invisible, covered by a magical shield.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Merlin walked at a slow pace, trying his best not to over heat in the hot weather.

With the lack of water he had to try his best to keep his temperature down and drink the water he had with him sparingly.

Merlin kept stopping and peering over his shoulder making sure nobody was following him, he felt uneasy but maybe it was because of what Arthur had said and had got him thinking about what if people had seen him use magic, how long was it going to be before the Knights were ripping him out of his bed and dragging him off to the chopping block.

He shuddered as he thought of the possibilities, the best thing to do was to not use magic unless it was to save Arthur from some terrible fate.

The sun was beating through the tree's and burning the warlocks head terribly, lazily he pulled off his jacket and draped it over his head, he thought he looked an idiot but it was better than being burned to death by the sun.

He continued to drag his feet through the woods, taking little steps in the direction of where he would find the black cohosh.

He was glad to get out of the city, be alone and able to think, Arthur's behaviour was beginning to get to him and Gaius' nagging was becoming unbearable.

Merlin had been walking almost an hour when he came by the lake, it usually only took about half an hour to walk to the lake but in the hot weather it took considerably longer, he slumped down next to a large tree to shelter in its shade and he closed his eyes, he felt exhausted.

He felt weak and thirsty but he knew the water had to last until he had found a way to help Camelot and get the water back, he wasn't going to resort to drinking his own bath water again and that was for sure.

After a few moments of feeling relaxed the young warlock fell asleep sat against the tree.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Avianna sighed as she slipped off the rock in to the cool water, the water rose to her shoulders as she stood still for a moment, adjusting to the temperature then she began to swim along the lake, she ducked under the water sending droplets of water shooting in to the air.

As she swan to the bottom of the lake with grace and ease she saw something glint out of the corner of her eye, she stopped to get a better view, it was something silver and shiny.

She swam closer full of curiosity she had been to the bottom of the lake many times before but had never seen this, as she swam closer she noticed it was long, like a sword.

She braced her hand against the bottom of the lake bed and pulled at the object that had grabbed her attention, it shimmered as she pulled and it flew out of the dirt, it was a sword.

She stared at it suspiciously 'why was there a sword at the bottom of the lake?' she thought as she examined it closely, it was beautiful, fine crafted and perfectly balanced with engravings on the side of the blade.

Avianna stared at the sword her dark eyes wide with wonder, it was the most amazing sword she had ever seen but something about it didn't seem right, it was giving off an over whelming power, this sword was magical, she could feel it.

She decided the best thing to do would be to leave the sword where it was so with a hard push she forced the blade back in to the dirt.

She kicked off from the bottom of the lake and shot up to the surface, she drew her hands up to her face and wiped the water away from her eyes.

As she floated on the surface she gazed around and took in her surroundings, she could feel something different, she could feel something strong and magical, it was so over powering.

She didn't know what it was but it was something so magical it made the hairs on her neck stand on end and sent a rush through her body.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Merlin had been sleeping for a wile and sleeping in the sun wasn't the best of idea's as he would easily dehydrate.

Avianna waded through the water and out of the corner of her eye she saw him, sat under the tree looking peaceful and overly enchanting in every way.

She stared at him curiously, surely it wasn't him giving off the magical vibe, someone so plain yet so enchanting and sweet.

He looked so helpless alone on the embankment burning in the sun, she pouted her perfectly plump lips and thought for a moment, there was only one way to tell if he was magical and that was to approach him and see if he could see her.

The fairy slowly waded through the water and climbed up the bank towards the mysterious young man, he looked flushed and weak.

"Poor boy" she whispered as she stepped closer to him, she could see his chest rising but his breathing was shallow and pained.

She noticed the flask laid along side him and bent down to pick it up as she did this she heard him mumble something but she wasn't quite sure what he had said, all she knew was that even in his delirious state he was sweet and she felt a deep sense of protection for him even though she didn't know anything about him.

She held up the flask and it felt light, she shook it and only a small amount of liquid jingled around, a frown engulfed her soft pale face and her eyes darted back to the young man, he was so flushed, warm and weak from the heat.

She opened the flask and raised it to her lips her brow raised as she gave the young man another look, she gently blew into the flask and a smile crept across her face.

She leaned in closer to the boy and raised the flask to his lips, his lips flinched then his lips parted ever so slightly enough for her to tip the contents of the flask in to his mouth, he made a slight gulping sound as he swallowed, she smiled sweetly and waited for him to come round.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Bright blue piercing eyes stared back at the woman and she thought they were mesmerising, so beautiful and magical, it took Merlin a moment or so to come around properly, his eyes squinted at the woman then opened wider, it was obvious he could see her with the way he was looking at her.

She leaned back from him and smiled straight at him, his mouth dropped open as he stared at her, his head tilted slightly to the side and his facial expression fell confused.

Avianna peered over her shoulder and rolled her eyes, she knew what he was staring at and she didn't blame him staring or looking confused, he obviously hadn't seen someone with wings before.

"Are you OK?" she asked him her voice was soft and sweet.

Merlin braced him self against the tree and pulled him self up to his feet, she peered up at him she didn't know if he was scared or freaked out at her, after all she did have wings.

"I...I am fine, you.... you have wings" he said shakily.

Avianna smiled as she handed him the flask, he took it willingly and was surprised by how heavy it was.

"I am a fairy" she replied without thinking, she didn't see the point in being cautious, he could see her, he could see she had wings and he could hopefully see she wasn't going to hurt him, least she hoped so.

Merlin rubbed his head with the back of his hand and peered around, he was scared somebody would see them, some one from the village or one of the Knights.

He took her arm without thinking and pulled her round to the other side of the tree "its dangerous here" he rushed as his eyes continued to dart around the woods.

Avianna studied his face, he was so beautiful looking she couldn't believe it but she could tell he was worried about something.

"Dangerous how?" she asked as she met his gaze, his eyes so bright and enchanting.

"King Uther will kill everything magical" he replied.

Avianna lowered her head she didn't understand why any one would want to kill magical beings, she herself had never hurt any body and would never do so, she was a creature of peace and beauty.

"King Uther hates all magical beings, he wants them all dead" he said bluntly.

She looked up and stared into his eyes "how about you?" she asked as she twisted her arm in his grip, his eyes shot down to her arm and he snatched his hand away with an embarrassed cough.

"Nobody knows about me" he replied shyly.

"You keep your magic secret?" she said as she admired his form, he was skinny and pale now, his flushed cheeks had gone, he was pretty, she found her thoughts wandering like she never had before, he was a magical being but looked so ordinary.

"I have to do, other wise I will end up dead" he replied coldly his gaze flitting away from the woman to the lake in an attempt to hide his pain.

"That hurts you a lot" she said softly as she raised her hand to his chest.

Merlin stared at her hand, he felt her hand on his chest and he felt a little calmer, he nodded his head and she smiled.

"I can feel your pain" she said softly, she sighed and pulled her hand away.

There was an awkward silence as the two gazed at each other for a wile, Merlin finally broke the silence "the water in the flask, it was almost empty, how......" he trailed off as he saw something flicker in the distance.

Merlin kept staring his eyes locked beyond the clearing as he saw someone moving closer "move" he whispered as he moved Avianna closer to the lake.

"What is it?" she asked curiously, Merlin kept pushing her towards the water until she was almost in the lake.

"King Uther's Knights, they are looking for suspects" he replied as he gripped Avianna's hand.

She stared up at him from the water "what should I do?" she cried.

Merlin's face fell panicked as he heard the rustling getting closer "go... go to where ever you go, so they can't find you".

Avianna felt scared for the first time in her life as Merlin held on to her hand, she was glad of the strong hand holding hers "what about you?" she asked shakily.

Merlin gave her a wry smile and slipped his hand out of hers "I'll be OK" he replied confidently.

Avianna gave Merlin one last smile before she descended in to the water and waded off in to the centre the disappeared, leaving Merlin standing alone on the embankment.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Merlin scrambled back up the embankment towards the tree and pressed against it in silence as he listened to footsteps grow closer and twigs snapping.

His heart began to beat faster and his breathing became heavy, he swallowed hard as he prepared to face Uther's men.

"Merlin.... what are you doing hiding behind a tree?" asked the authoritative yet inquiring voice of Arthur.

Merlin looked up and saw Arthur stood inches from him wearing his brown tunic, tight brown breeches and his dark red jacket, he looked confused if not a little annoyed.

Merlin let a smile creep across his face "I.... I was taking a breather, the hot weather... its hot" Merlin rambled.

Arthur raised his brow and bit his tongue which poked into his cheek causing a little bump to stick out which did look rather amusing "wow observant" he whipped before signalling Merlin to move on with him around the lake.

Merlin glanced back at the water and saw Avianna peering out from behind a rock, she gave him a concerned smile which he returned as he gave her a wave behind Arthur's back.

"You left very quickly when I was training" Arthur whipped.

Merlin shrugged but did not reply to the Prince, Arthur glanced at his servant and rolled his eyes.

"Merlin... I.... you know I don't agree with what my father does, he's unstoppable" Arthur said calmly.

Merlin only nodded "I know it seems like he is... but he has be stopped.. Camelot can't continue to go through this, it was bad enough last time when you killed the unicorn" Merlin said bluntly.

"How do we stop him?" asked Arthur as he reached for Merlin's flask.

Merlin handed the Prince the flask and watched as he drank some water "thanks Merlin".

Arthur handed the flask back to Merlin and he expected the flask to be half empty but instead it was still full, Merlin looked confused as he shook the flask against his ear.

"Something wrong?" Arthur asked as he came to a halt on the bank of the lake.

"No... no nothing" Merlin replied with a smile as he realised the fairy had enchanted the flask so that it would never run out of water, she was looking out for him and he didn't even know her name


End file.
